Lunch box



2 Sheets-Shet l J. H. DEVINE LUNCH Box Filed June 21, 192g ffzmfvz forJawa? ewfz May 17, 1932.

J. H'. DEvlNE lMay 17, 1932.

LUNCH BGX Filed June 21, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Illlllllllllllllflllllgllll111111111111111 Patented May 17, 1932 narratosra ras JAMES n. nnvma on crmurarem rumors,

Limon Box Application fired; :une 21, 192s; serial' Nn., 287:105;

This invention relates to food containers,

andI more particularly' to lunch boxes, picnicl boxes, andI containers03E similar nature.

It 1s known toA provide lunehi boxes and Bf coi-itainers of similarnature` havingfassociati`v ed therewithveither retrigerating orwheat`radiating means, optionally, for coohngor heating; the contents ofthebox or containl have tou-nd that devices ot 10 tliisfcharacter, ascommonlyconstructed, aire erI as, desi'redf.

objectionable in tliat avery appreciable part of the heating or coolingelect is lost by ifa-- (li-ation. or conductiom as the case. maybe. Thisobjection. can be avoided by properly mi disposing` the container forthe cooling' or heat' radiating material? relative tothe food andi insuch: manner tllatthe ii'ood? itself maybe` utilized to insulate thetank or container tory' they refrigerant or the heated substance.

mi By.- this arrangement, the food isactedupon: to. thebest advantageand-f the heating ortho rerigenant effect producedf is materiallypnolonged-1 andi its effectiveness greatly in.- creased'.I

n @ne oi the. main. objects. of my.A innen.

tion; istoaprovide a lunch boxl orkiztzof neat and attractive appearancewhich can be read ily produced at relatively small cost, andnzhich.- ishighlyv sanitaryl and' can be readily ai assembled and disassembled.. Atur-therl object is to; provide a. lunch box having a tank,

or body` providing a source of heat or cold,`

as: desired. this body being;- so. supported inv al, structureassociatedI therewith aat-o,y permit the food; co1 be introduced. about:thel bodyY in suehi manner as toinsu-late they same: and also; tof beacted upon to. best advantage by the.

heat or the cold, as the case may; be1,roii'V the body., A furtherobjectk is to provide af conectively insulated from the( casing;`Funftai'ner in which; the body is disposed' and; means associated withthe container andi a caslng therefor whereby the container 1s efey thenobjects and, advantageszwilh appear: trom Y Fig; 3fis: aesect'ion takensubstantially on line of 2;'

Figa 4i`s. a side View of the sandwich and tank.'receiafingftrame;

' Fig; isa section taken; lineiwot Fig, 4;`

*Eig @Bis a fragmentary sectional view', on an enlarged scale,throughthe filling neck ot the tankand associated parts;Y

Eig: rf'is af-sectfion taken1 substantially onv line. 7?-7 of. 4, onfanrenlarged scale;

Fig. Sisa detail sectional view through one-- ot" the top spacing and?cushion members of thel sandwich and' tank 'receiving trame, on1 an:enlairgedscalei.'

lin constructingy my lunch box, I providev av suitable casing l of?rectan-gularI shape in Vertical? and? horizontal section. This casingmay be tormedf o any suitablematerial, though preferably use sheetmetal, preferably aluminum. 'The casirigma-y be given a. suitableiinislr to represent Wood, in alino-Wn. manner, or the'v casing; mayY becovered with leather or other vsuitablemaf-terial'f, so as to present aneat andi attractivefappea-rance; A cover 2 ishingedly'securedftocasing' at 3 andmaybe constructed ot' thesamegmaterial' as the` casing. A suitable handlel t is suitably securedltlostlecover, as bybeing' rivetedfthereto, and-I the-cover ilsfurtlienprovided', at its front edge, with a@ liaspnhich cooperates Withav lock 6 iioivloclsing the coverclosed'. Preferably thecoverl is; alsoAsecurect by t-Wospring clasps 75 known type, inA a known manner;

et lowerfcontainer is disposed Within the lowerportion of casing 1. Thiscontainer comprises an: inner' member 8, preferably of' glass, which: isspacedi a-Way from they casing 1- by alientanmember 9 formed ot'fco-rlor other suitablematerialwhich isfan efiicien-t heat in-h surlatoriandisalsoo-f li-ght Weight. I also contemplate insulating4 the inner member 8from the-casing ll by a; space between this membery andir the casing,this space being exfhausted-to provide a-v vacuum, iny a knownVsubstantially onf manner: The'i'nner member'orliner'S of glassisnon-corrodible and provides a sanitary' contarncr" whichl rsf notaffected by articles of foodgthus'assurmg th at the container is 'main-'tainedgv inI a: sanitary condition;

roo

The upper e-nd or top of the lower container is closed by a suitableflanged cover 10 which fits snugly into the upper end of the containerso as to form a tight closure therewith. This cover may be constructedof any suitable heat insulating material, such as wood, and is providedwith a central depression 411 having a transverse rib 12 which providesa gripping element for removing the cover from the container. The cover10 is preferably provided with an inner layer 10aofsheetl cork or othersuitable heat insulating material, or may be formed entirely of suchmaterial.

An upper container 13 in the form of a relatively deep tray is mountedin the upper portionvof casing 1 and seats upon cover '10. Thiscontainer 13 is preferably formed of sheet aluminum and is divided by atransverse partition 14 into two compartments, 15

i and 16. The compartmentl is adapted for reception of two one-half pintvacuum bottles or containers though, obviously, this compartment can beused to contain various other articles desired. The compartment 164 isadapted for reception of a supplemental container 17 having a glassliner18 and in-l sulated from the tray or container'13 by a surrounding`layer of cork or other suitable 1nsulating material. This container 17is also provided with a snugly fitting cover 20 which maybe formedoffwood, cork, orany other suitable or-preferred material, a goodinsulator of heat being p-referably used. The supplemental container 17is constructed simi-v larly,in all essential respects, to the lowercontainer and, if desired, the insulating layer of cork 19 may bereplaced a space from which the air is exhausted to form a vacuum, in amanner well understood in the art.

- The lower container receives a frame 21 which is of rectangular shapein plan and in side view, this frame being formed ,of sheet metal,preferably sheet aluminum. The frame 21 is provided at each end and atits `bottom with outwardly projecting spacing ymembers 22 which serve tospace the frame fromthe .bottom and end walls .of the glass liner 8.Similar spacing members 23 (Fig. 3) are also provided at each end of theframe and project laterally thereof so as to space the frame from theside walls of the liner 8, as illustrated. In this manner, the frame issupported out of contact with the liner and is effectively insulatedtherefrom, by the spacing elements 22 and 23, whichare of relativelysmall area, so that the flow of heat between the frame and the containerby conduction is" reduced to aminimum. This is of very materialassistance m preventing loss of heat 0r cold, as the 4case may be, dueto conductionl between the frame and the container therefor. f l

A channel member2t (Fig. 7 is secured to the inner face of each-end wall26 of frame 21. This member is' arranged transversely of end wall 25 andis disposed substantially centrally of such wall. Channel member 24 1sclosed at one end, at 26, and is provided at its other end with adepending U-shaped flange 27 adapted for reception of the lower portionof a latch plate 28 pivoted at 29 on the upper liange of channel member24. The channelmembers receive lugs 30l of elongated rectangular shapewhich are secured to the ends of a tank 31. This tank is flat andrelatively thin, being of rectangular shape transversely andlongitudinally.

' The tank 31 may be constructed of any suitable material dependinglargely upon the characteristics of the substance to be placed withinthe tank. Under ordinary conditions,

this tank may be constructed of sheet alu-V I have found the manner ofmounting t e4 tank which I have illustrated anddescribed highlyeliicient, as permitting ready insertion and removal of the tank. l

Tank 31 is provided, in one side wall there of, with a cylindricalopening 32, in which isdisposed a flange neck 33 suitably secured, as bysoldering, to the tank wall. This neck is adapted for reception of asuitable closure member, such as acork stopper .34, and is exteriorlythreaded for reception of a suitable cap 35 screwed thereon. Preferably,an expansion spring 36 is conined between the cap 35 and the outer endof stopper 34 and serves to effectively hold the stopper in the neck 33,the stopper and the cap cooperating to precent leakage of thecontainerthrough neck 33. Other means than that illustrated may be provided forfilling and emptying the tank. v.

Tank 31 is supported in spaced relation to the top and bottom wallsofthe frame 21, as illustrated. Suitable trays'37, which may be formedof sheet aluminum, are adapted to lit snugly between the tank and thetop and bottom ofthe frame, these trays and the tank cooperating toclose the sides of the frame. The trays 37 are adapted for reception ofsandwiches or other articles of food placed therein, as illustrated inFig. 5.

With the trays insertedl into the frame 21,

the upper tray rests upon the top wall of the estema y the tank from theframe.

To prevent any vertical looseness or play of the frame 21, I preferablyprovide suitable cushioning members on the top of the frame. Thesemembers are indicated by ref-y erence number` 38. Each of the members 38comprises a neck 39 provided at its lower end with a flange 40 which issuitably secured to the top wall of the frame 21, this neck slidablyreceiving a shank 41 which depends from a button shaped head 42. Anexpansion coil spring 43 is mounted about member 38 and is confinedbetween head 42 and fiange 40. Upward movement of the shank 41 islimited by a pin 44 secured therethrough, this pin passing through slot45 in neck 39. Vhen cover 10 is depressed into its lower-most oroperative position, which occurs when the upper container or tray 13 isin position and the cover 2 is secured closed, the heads 42 of themembers 3S are depressed placing springs 43 under compression. Thesesprings serve to effectively hold the frame 21 against any undesirablelooseness or play in a vertical direction while also eliminatingliability of breakage of the inner glass member or liner 8 of the lowercontainer due to pressure exerted thereon.

In practice, the tank 31 is removed from the frame 21 and is filled witha suitable refrigerant or a suitable heat retaining substance, asdesired. If a refrigerant is desired, the tank 31, including thesolution therein, may be cooled down by being placed in crushed ice, ora mixture of crushed ice and salt, or in any other suitable manner as bybeing placed over night in a refrigerator. If it is desired to maintainthe sandwiches or other articles of food hot, the tank may be filledwith boiling water or with a suitable solution which has been heated. Asolution of an organic substance, such as glycerine, is preferably used.Obviously, after having once been filled, instead of heating water of asolution and pouring it into the tank, the tank and the contents thereofmay be heated as a unit in any suitable manner. The tank is thenreplaced in frame 21 and the sandwiches or other articles of food,either with or without the trays 37, are inserted into the frame betweenthe top and bottom walls hereof and the tank. The frame, together withthe tank and the sandwiches, as wel] as the trays 37, if used, is thenreplaced in the lower container as a unit, after which the uppercontainer 13 is replaced and the box is closed.

The container 17 is intended for reception of fruit, preserves, andother articles of food. The glass lining 18 of this supplementalcompartment assures that it will be maintained in a. neat and sanitarycondition, since the fruit juices will not attack the glass lining.

While I have illustrated and described my invention as applied to alunch box, it is well adapted for other. vpurposes as by making it inlarger sizes, it is capable ofcontaining relatively large quantities offood stuffsV for picnicsand other purposes.

- Sincey the frame 21 is effectually insulated from the lower container,and the tank 31 is,

in great part, insulated from frame 21, loss of` heat or cold from thetank 31 due to conduc# tion between the outer casing l and the tank andassociatedl parts is reduced to a minimum.

As al result, the articles of food which are disposed closely adjacentthe tank will be kept in the desired condition for a relatively longperiod of time. This produces a device of high efficiency but simple andinexpensive construction which may be readily assembled and disassembledfor storing the food and giving access thereto.

The inner surface of case 1 is preferably highly polished to reflectheat. This is of advantage as decreasing the loss of heat by radiation,and contributes to the efficiency of the box when used for heatingarticles of food.

As will bev understood by those skilled in the art, and as aboveindicated, changes in construction and arrangement of parts of theinvention may be resorted to Wit-hout departing from the field and scopeof the same, and I intend to include all such variations, as fall withinthe scope of the appended claims, in this application, in which thepreferred form only of my invention is disclosed.

What I claim is:

1. In a lunch kit, a casing, a container within the casing and thermallyinsulated therefrom, a frame removably mounted in the container and openat one side, channel members secured to the inner face of each end wallof the frame and extending transversely thereof, and a tank having endlugs fitting into the channel members and cooperating therewith tosupport the tank substantially centrally of the frame.

2. In a lunch kit, a casing, a container Within the casing and thermallyinsulated therefrom, a frame removably mounted in the container and openat one side, open ended channel members secured to the end Walls of theframe and disposed transversely thereof, a tank having end supportinglugs slidable into and out of said members, and removable means forclosing the ends of the channel members against withdrawal therefrom ofsaid lugs.

3. In a lunch kit, a casing, a container within the casing and thermallyinsulated therefrom, a frame removably mounted in the container, andopen at one side, and a tank inl sertible into and removable from theframe, said tank and the frame having cooperating channel elements andprojections for supporting and guiding the tank, and means cooperatingwith said projections for releasably securing the tank in the frame.

4. In a lunch kit, a casing, a container Within the casing and thermallyinsulated therefrom, a frame removably mounted in the container and openat one side, a tank vinsertble intoand removable from the frame, meansfor guiding and supporting the tank, and means for releasably securingsaid tank in the frame.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 16 day of June,1928.

v i JAMES H. DEVINE.

